Bizarro Land

Has Southern California gone crazy? Today's headlines:

:: Record producer Christian Julian Irwin disappeared early Sunday morning soon after frantically calling a friend on his cell phone. Irwin told his pal that he was being chased down a ravine by people with dogs who he believed might kill him.

According to the L.A. Times, Irwin may have been somehow entangled in one of those bizarre Internet scams you receive spam about at least once a day (Nigerian princes offering millions in exchange for your assistance in "retriving" their money, etc.)

Apparently Irwin freaked out after receiving a $50,000 check, and realized he was over his head. No one's heard from him since.

:: Investigators have ruled an accident the tragic deaths of a producer and his daughter.

Terry Carr, 62, suffered a heart attack, and his 210-pound body fell onto his 9-year-old sleeping daughter, leaving her unable to escape or breathe. Carr and his daughter were found dead Aug. 1 in the cargo area of their Jeep Grand Cherokee.

:: They Report, You Better Run For Cover: Former U.S. prosecutor John Loftus went on Fox News on Aug. 7 and gave out the address of a man he claimed was a terrorist living in La Habra.

One problem: The man had sold the house three years ago. And the home's current owners, Randy and Ronnell Vorick, have been harrassed since then.

Satellite photos and directions to the house were posted online; drivers have shouted profanities at the family (others have stopped and taken pictures of the house). And one obviously bright cable news viewer spray painted the word "Terrist" on the side of their house. Fox News and Loftus admit their error, but the couple says it's not enough.

:: No surprise here, but the Daily News banners today's edition: Area kids grow fatter.

Sez the paper: Updating an earlier study based on 2001 figures, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy found that childhood obesity rose 6.2 percent statewide and as much as 15 percent in the Valley area.

"We were shocked by the findings," said Harold Goldstein, the center's executive director. "Given the amount of media attention this epidemic has gotten, we didn't expect an increase of 6 percent in just three years. This is a personal and medical disaster."